I just blew £10 on Orange data! I want WiFi.

I want WiFi, like right now.

I’m sitting here testing out a Nokia E66 (expect the review later this week), and I’m looking at the Maps function, and amusing myself at having Facebook on my phone. And I’m angry, at two things; that poor excuse of “speed”, and the ridiculousness of the cost.

I would have used WLAN, but I don’t have access to it, so instead I just used the £10 I topped up with half an hour ago, with an Orange pre-pay SIM. I’m sitting here now, and I am back to zero credit. I barely used the thing; I logged onto Facebook, and it got too slow so I gave-up. Then I thought I would try out Nokia Maps – it looks cool right? – WRONG! It’s too slow, and it ate up my credit!

This mobile, which is expensive to say the least, a business model, designed for those who require constant connectivity, and yet it lacks such a basic function as WiFi. And instead, I’m charged for the privilege of the slowest internet ever – ten pounds in thirty minutes!

Nokia Maps is a joke too. I got as far as seeing the M25, and half of London. I don’t want to see half of London, I want to see my current position, hence why I set it to that; but no. Apparently, that takes ten minutes, and £10 to do so.

Ahh!

I’m shocked, and also angry. How can networks get away with charging that much for an extremely slow and terribly unresponsive service as that? But also, I know you’re thinking “You should have known better you ignorant little girl”, and in all honesty, I should have known better, I know. I remember wasting my credit on Virgin Mobile years ago just trying to read the news whilst out and about. I knew that it would be eaten up, but half an hour, for ten pounds?

I’m appalled right now, angry, frustrated, and wondering how networks can get away with it. Isn’t OFCOM meant to be regulating this type of thing? Plus, the internet is a standard to the majority for their lives and work; so it should still be reserved for the super-rich, or contract payers.

And this is why I want WiFi. There are loads of Hotspots around London, and more being added all around other cities in the country. Plus there is new technology like WiMAX, which has a radius of thirty miles. That could pretty much cover the whole of my area easily. I don’t expect them all to be free, but even the ones you have to pay for, there is no way you’ll be charged £10 for thirty minutes, and you get better speeds too.

So to the mobile industry, I’m disgusted. I could just about comprehend the stupid rates you charge about three years ago, or more, but now? You honestly think you have a right to charge me that much for the slowest, most unreliable connection I have ever had the misery of using? You’re wrong!

And to Nokia, Sony (sorry Ewan, I know you don’t like them), Samsung, and all the others; make more phones that are WiFi compatible for the nornobs like myself, and for the business users too. Not only will the internet function be more used by the normobs, but it’ll probably progress into better levels and versions (like a web 2.0 for mobile), because there is more use.

I’m going to write to Orange and ask why it cost me so much, because I can guarantee you now, it didn’t cost them £10 to supply me with that miserable service!